CHRISTMAS is coming and ’tis the time to be vigilant, police have been warning traders. Shoplifting alerts tend to be a hardy perennial at this busy business end of the shopping year. but this time around, perhaps more than any festive season in recent memory, shop owners must be gearing themselves up to face one of their most challenging periods ever in the ongoing battle against retail crime.

Money is tighter, not just in the UK but increasingly in Guernsey, as shockwaves from a global recession begin to bite at home. And while for most of us being short of cash is no cause for criminality, the correlation is there. Add this to the existing band of opportunists and, even in relatively crime-free Guernsey, the potential rises.

As a result, police have been reassuring traders that they will be out in force this Christmas to deter the criminal element and to protect traders and shoppers. They have pledged a more visible presence in Town and say plain-clothes officers will be out and about, too.

With shoplifting offences down last year – at 165 cases reported and 119 detected, compared to 226 and 168 respectively in 2009 – the statistics are moving in the right direction. In fact, the numbers, when measured against the population, are at a level UK forces can only dream about.

But despite this, some local businesses believe it is still a significant retail issue, with one adding: ‘Shoplifting in Guernsey is a big problem’.

Already several proactive steps, including a meeting between police and local retailers, have been taken to crack down further on shoplifting. More education for younger offenders and parents has been suggested, along with the view that now could be the time to bring back Shopwatch, a scheme where information is circulated among shops about individuals targeting retail premises.

Yes, we must keep things in perspective. We are not talking about a huge problem here. But one of Guernsey’s biggest selling points is its enviable crime-free environment, especially compared to other retail centres in the UK.

While still a relatively minor problem, locally, no business can afford to make losses in the current climate. And at the end of the day, shoplifting results in not only the shops but us, the genuine customers, being forced to pick up the bill.